X Thinking: Building Better Brands in the Age of Experience

X Thinking explores the necessity and components of stronger brand eXperiences, born from the accelerating consumer market in China. Written by co-authors Jason Huang and Michael Lai, it is an English language adaptation of a popular book published in China in 2020, revised specifically for American readers. The essence of the new book X Thinking is the convergence of culture and context - a new philosophy and methodology for creating consumer experiences. X Thinking will help companies create long-term loyalty through meaningful relationships that serve a new set of customer needs.

We are living in the era of experience, where commodities compete for the attention of consumers in a ruthless retail landscape, and brands survive and succeed based on the experiences they create. X Thinking, and the delivery of exceptional eXperiences, are key to introducing, nurturing, and solidifying customer relationships -and setting businesses apart as leaders in a crowded industry. Yet too few companies embrace these values at a strategic level.

China isn’t just a new market for western companies. It’s a new kind of market, one with an accelerated technology adoption timeline unlike the United States. The concurrent rise of cities and salaries at a staggering pace parallels the rise in customer expectations, a hierarchy of decision-making criteria and value propositions that form the foundation of sincere relationships with brands that transcend the paradigms of the past.

Understanding this distinct evolution in China isn’t simply a glimpse over the metaphorical horizon. It’s a window into the future of brand building in the U.S., where consumers are already on the same trajectory.

Replete with case studies, benchmarks, and comparisons between familiar American brands and beloved Chinese counterparts (largely unknown beyond their borders), X Thinking distills more than a decade of observations and practice into crucial, actionable intelligence.

Topics include:

• Why do consumer-behavior trends in China matter to U.S. brands?
• How are traditional, transactional relationships detrimental to customer loyalty?
• What are the advantages of shifting from traditional ROI to a more sustainable ＂Return on eXperience＂?
• Why is digital transformation an essential step to turning data into intelligence?
• What are the nature and impact of touchpoints on brand perception, value, and positioning?
• How do brands become an integral part of a customer experience, something that transcends the traditional customer journey?

But X Thinking is more than an abstract construct to identify the needs of clients and their customers. It’s a practical approach for measuring the meaning and value of customer engagement holistically - brand building at its most elemental.

By tapping into the multi-faceted motivations that influence customer behavior individually and collectively, companies can align their own processes with objectives leading toward more fulfilling relationships with consumers. It’s reciprocal. Creating value isn’t only about the bottom line. It’s a pervasive operational approach that elevates every interaction.

Rethinking the changing nature of customer relationships will reveal new strategies necessary to exceed new expectations. Immersive and intuitive, X Thinking offers answers for an industry facing unprecedented uncertainty and a guide to navigate the future with informed insights.